25 July 2013

World News Roundtable - 25 July 2013

The remodel of Downtown Disney
appears to be actually happening this time. Last February, I wrote about
the plans to turn Downtown Disney into Disney Springs. I mentioned at the
time that this wasn't the first time that plans had been announced for a
Downtown Disney enhancement. I also mentioned that until construction
really started, it was highly possible that plans could change again.
Well, it appears that Disney was for real this time. Construction
walls are in place and demolition has started. The old Comedy Warehouse
is no more and every venue in the old Pleasure Island is gone with the
exception of Paradiso 37. Four parking lots have been blocked off for the
addition of a new parking structure. Disney Springs, in some form or
another, is a reality now and I'm excited to see the changes and the final
product!

Straight from Comic-Con's Once Upon a Time panel comes exciting news that Ariel will be introduced during the show's upcoming third season.
It's an announcement many fans have wanted for a while, and I think it's
fun to see the show branching out into some of the more recent Disney
endeavors beyond the fairy tales of Walt's time. Coming off the heels of
introducing Captain Hook last year and the large presence that
character has come to have, it will be interesting to see how big of a
spotlight Ariel will be given.

It's really happening! Muppets Most Wanted will be
hitting the big screen in March, but I was pleasantly surprised to see
some "promos" before Teen Beach Movie last week. I actually thought it
was a recycled clip from something I haven't seen before (it's been a
long time since I turned the Disney Channel on) but no! After Miss Piggy
and Debby Ryan tried to take some selfies, the title of the new movie
popped up on screen.

If you follow the above link, you'll also see the
promo with Ross Lynch (of Teen Beach Movie) who actually guest starred
in the new Muppet film. His video offers up some footage of his time on
set. So much fun! While I wish the short clips were a bit more
Muppet-centric (where's the rest of the gang?!), I can't help but think
ahead to March. (Truth: the Muppet promo set a high bar for Teen Beach
Movie... that was just never matched.)

Disney's Animal Kingdom will soon be home to what can only be assumed is a pilot program for guests with dietary concerns. The Garden Kiosk, located on Discovery Island just outside of Disney's Outfitters, will now be an information station where guests can get information about all of the restaurants in the park. Guests will be able to address not only allergies and menu options at the stand, but also gluten and other special dietary needs. In addition to providing a valuable guest service, the Garden Kiosk will also continue to serve a assortment of snacks and beverages, including hummus and a gluten-free beer.

As I stated earlier, I can only foresee this as spreading to other parks, provided the service is actually utilized by guests. Of course, what would really be terrific would be to see a property wide version of this service where you could speak to a Cast Member about dietary concerns of any restaurant on property at any given time. This could come in handy if you were leaving Disney's Animal Kingdom and headed to Disney's Hollywood Studios and you wanted to know what was available at 50s Prime Time Cafe for someone with an egg allergy.

Now I know you can pick up a phone and have this done in a second, but being face-to-face with someone always provides that human touch. The rub being, Walt Disney World had a system such as this in place once upon a time. It was in EPCOT Center and it was known as World Key. Hey, a boy can dream of the '80s, right?